


A Precious Metal Matter

by Winek



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: HeartGold & SoulSilver | Pokemon HeartGold & SoulSilver Versions
Genre: Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Drama, Drama & Romance, Friendship, M/M, Pokemon Battle, Pokemon Journey, Romance, Romantic Friendship, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2020-02-21
Packaged: 2020-06-26 03:27:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19759660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winek/pseuds/Winek
Summary: An alternate universe played in HeartGold & SoulSilver's environment. For details on the AU, read the last chapter FIRST!Follow the Pokémon adventure of Dylan, as he gets sexually harassed by Cedric, crushed on by Selene, learn about the Pokémon societies, trains and obtain badges in a tech-inspired newly made battle system, all that, in a story axed on romance, comedy, drama, and the discovering of one's self, with a focus on both the humans and their Pokémon, whose speech has been translated to the readers, for the sake of convenience.





	1. Universal Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter gets smutty right from the beginning... innocent souls, don't go too far

“Ow! Cedric, this isn’t a birthday present!”

“It’s only the thoughts that matters.”

“Well, those thoughts really hurt! A punch isn’t a gift!”

“... Yeah. I know. I just didn’t know what I should get for you, and it was too late.”

“You give me those kind of birthday presents everyday I see you, Cedric! This isn’t a present!”

“Dylan… let me promise you something.”

“Uh?”

“When you’ll be 16… I’ll stop hitting you. I’ve got something else awaiting for you. But I’m still gonna bully you.”

“What? Are you gonna stab me instead?!”

“... That’s a secret.”

“Cedric, I’m serious now! Don’t stab me!”

“For now, enjoy birthday present everyday!”

“Waah! Ow! Stop iiiiit!”

New Bark town. A small and quiet town where everyone knows each other and the breeze gently caresses its inhabitants.

Dylan was an average boy whose 16th birthday was today. His best friend was Cedric, who kept on punching him since their youngest age. At Dylan’s 10th birthday, Cedric made a promise, but matured over a few years, stopping to bully Dylan entirely. For his birthday, this time, he brought a real present. He brought his promise, as well.

Dylan was resting on his bed, during the evening of his birthday, checking on his phone, impatiently waiting for Cedric for a gaming night with him to celebrate this magical day.

“Hmmm… he’s oddly late.” he says, dropping his phone on his chest. “I wonder if he’ll even come… he’s been acting so distant, lately.”

It wasn’t long before his door opened itself to show up Cedric. “Finally! What took you so long?” Dylan said, as he got up from his bed.

“Sorry. I was preparing your gift.” Cedric shrugs, leaving his vest on Dylan’s desk.

“That’s thoughtful of you, but you really didn’t need to, you know.” Dylan says while smiling. It was unusual for Cedric to actually get him a gift, and seeing his recent avoiding behavior, Dylan almost thought Cedric would skip his birthday entirely.

Cedric takes out a little box, and gives it to Dylan. “Of course I had to. It’s your birthday.”

Dylan happily accepts the gift, excited. “Oh, well. Thanks!” He hurries and unwraps it, sending little bits of the present’s wrapping flying everywhere. It’s a pocket watch made of a silver-colored metal, lightly gleaming off from the light hanging on the ceiling.

“Wow! It’s pretty. You went through the trouble to get that?” does Dylan say, observing his pocket watch, studying its round shape, and opening it to check the clock, of which its time was properly set, and a picture of himself in the little socket.

“Yeah. I’ve been working my ass off the past few months, so you better not trash it. Got it?” as he chuckles.

Dylan’s surprised, making final realisations. “Wait. All those times you didn’t want to stay with me… you were working?!”

“Yeah. Those kind of shits aren’t free, man.”

“... How much?”

“Around 120 000P. It’s real platinum.”

Dylan’s shocked and sit up. “Holy shit, dude?! Why would you pay that much just for my birthday? I can’t repay this, man, take it back!” as he hands over the pocketwatch to Cedric.

Cedric push the pocket watch back to Dylan, then turns around.

“Dylan, you remember that promise I did, when I was young?”

“Uh… yeah… but how is that related? ...You’re not really gonna start stabbing me, are you?”

Cedric pat Dylan’s head softly. “Of course I wouldn’t. I bought you this platinum luxury crap to uphold that promise.”

Dylan chuckles, happy and feeling touched. “Aw, geez. That’s so nice from you… although I feel a bit bad taking it.”

Cedric walks to the door, and locks it. It makes a sound, catching Dylan’s attention. “Now, now. Don’t waste the money I paid.”

“... Did you just lock the door?” does Dylan say, skeptical and surprised, looking at Cedric.

Cedric approach Dylan, then, nails him down with a shove. “Forget the gaming night.”

“C-Cedric?! What are y-” but he is interrupted as he feels Cedric’s hand on his leg, about to enter his shorts.

Cedric proceeded to approach Dylan’s head whisper. “I promised. I’m not done teasing you, Dylan.”

Dylan wants to reply, but his breath cut short on him as he felt a wave of pleasure. Cedric’s hand was gently caressing the bulge of the underwear, as Dylan was blushing, eyes almost closed.

“If you want me to stop, just say so.” Cedric says, almost whispering, giving chills down Dylan’s spines.

At the same time, Cedric invaded Dylan’s undies, stroking his boner, up and down.

“S… S-Sto...p…”

“Hmmm? I didn’t quite hear you.” Cedric says, caressing Dylan’s cheeks smugly.

Dylan, feeling very embarrassed, turns his head away from Cedric.

“Virgins are so easy… heh.” Does Cedric says, just before Dylan finally takes the courage to talk properly. “Not like you… weren’t one…”

“Well, for sure, my eyes aren’t virgin.”

“...”

“So, want me to stop?”

“...”

“Thought so.”

Dylan closes his eyes, letting Cedric have free reign over his body, and thus, for a whole night.

Morning arrives.

Dylan was half asleep, but he could feel Cedric, who was hugging him, halfway devoid of clothes.

Dylan blushes, waking up slowly. “... What is wrong with me… why did I not stop him..?”

He loosen Cedric’s grip, then gets up. “I’m such an easy guy…” as he looks at his shorts, wet from last night.

Dylan feels his rear with a hand. “Did he do..? Eh… I don’t think so.”

In the shock of a moment, Dylan says in a low voice, not waking up Cedric, “Wait… I’m gonna be late! The Professor asked me to come this morning..!”

No time to wake and scold Cedric, Dylan changes his clothes quickly into a pair of more comfortable shorts, his golden t-shirt, his favorite sweater, and his unique cap, then, bearing his shoes rapidly before storming off downstairs.

His mother stops him in his rush. “Hello, sweetie!” Dylan answers hastily, looking at the door as if he was going to rush through it. “Oh, uh, hi, mom. I’m kinda in a hurry, right now…”

She smiles gently, fixing up Dylan’s shirt. “Yeah. I can see that. You had fun with Cedric in your gaming night?”

Dylan is embarrassed and turn away. “Y-Yeah.”

Rose lift Dylan’s cap, fixes his hair a bit, then pat him. “Today, I made some pancakes.”

Dylan becomes mildly annoyed, his mother making the pancakes on that day. “Mooom… why’d you have to make my favorites the day I gotta run…”

“Don’t worry, darling. Go do your things. I’m keeping them all heated up.” Rose says, as she headed back to her kitchen counter.

“Cool, mom! See ya!” Dylan says, as he waves to his mother.

Dylan leaves his house, forgetting about Cedric for a good while, despite his heated night.

His mom keeps cooking, a smile on her face.

“Mmm… the sweet scent of pancakes…”

She giggles. “With a delicate touch of lust.”

Cedric woke up as Dylan left. Didn’t take much time idling in the room, rapidly grabbing his shirt, and actually taking the time to go to the bathroom, take a shower, and make himself pretty.

Upon finishing, he went downstairs, then sat on one of the counter’s chairs, greeting Rose. “Morning.”

Rose happily greets him back. “Good morning, dear! Slept well?”

Cedric nods. “Yup. And you?”

“That’s good. I did, too. Thanks for asking.”

Dylan’s mother knew Cedric since he was a baby, and the same would apply for Dylan and Cedric’s mother, Daphnee. The bond they created was as strong as they would use each other's house as if it were no big deal at all.

This isn’t to mention that Cedric’s mother, being intensively focused on making money and working from home, for her husband, rarely has time to cook a proper, decent meal that doesn’t taste like an old Meowth. For which reasons? She would always says she’d be taking care of her company from afar.

“Would you like some pancakes?” as she serves him a plate.

Cedric pushes away the plate. “He’d kill me if I ate his pancakes.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve kept some for him. These are for you.” as she insists the plate back to him, with a fork and a knife.

“Heh. So, is he out?” as Cedric finally succumbs to the temptation of the pancakes, cutting a small piece, and picking it with a fork.

“Yup. Your father has duty for him, if I recall what he said to me, the other day.”

Cedric makes a sudden realization, then drops down the glistering tool with the tender pancake bit forked in. “I see… well, no time to eat, then. I’ll be going.”

Rose is slightly disappointed nobody tasted her pancakes. “Hm. Well, alright. Have a safe trip!”

Cedric rushes out from home, leaving her alone, still cooking.

“... They really think they can hide that from me?” as she laughs on her own.

New Bark town in the morning. A soft breeze, with a cool air, was gently stroking Dylan.

“I really wonder what does the professor need… hmmm.”

Dylan is walking toward the lab, enjoying the view around this peaceful town. He crosses his arms, walking slowly, staring at the ground. Getting even deeper in his thoughts.

“... Why did Cedric do all of this?” Dylan rummages through his pockets, feeling the cold platinum. “Did he buy this to me… just to do what we did yesterday?”

“Argh… what did we even do yesterday?! I don’t even remember anything!” did he hastily shouts. From afar, someone watches him.

“I am going to give him one hell of a good beating next time I’m see-” A soft, feminine voice cuts him in his back. “Beat who?”

Dylan turns, seeing no one other than Selene. “Oh… uh, nothing, just, yeah, talking about this show.”

Selene and Dylan were best friends for a big part of their childhood. While not as close to Dylan as Cedric is, she has been an amazing support for him, despite her overwhelming shyness and trust issues.

Selene slightly tilts her head in an adorable way. “I see… oh! Where are you headed?”

Cedric take his cap off and scratch his hair around. “I’m off to Elm’s lab. You? Shopping again?”

She is slightly embarrassed, blushing and looking at the ground. “A-ah, Dylan, I’m not always shopping, you know… I’m actually headed with you.”

“Really? Your house is way closer to his lab. Why didn’t you go straight there?” Dylan says, as Selene tries to catch up on her words. “Ah, well, I was just taking a morning walk.”

Dylan chuckles. “So, what do you think Elm wants from us?” as Dylan begins walking. Selene catches up to him. “I don’t know, but knowing Cedric’s dad, he’s up to something crazy again.”

Upon hearing the word ‘Cedric’, Dylan turns away, blushing, remembering the whole dilemma at hand. Selene notices this. “W-what’s wrong?”

He shrugs it off, shaking his head, but with the blushing and awkward face glued on, that he tries desperately to hide. “Nah, uh, it’s nothing.”

Selene gets a bit bored of it. “Tell me what’s going on. Is there an inside joke I’m missing now?”

Trying to shove the main issue away, he takes out, from his pocket, the pocket watch Cedric offered him. “H-he gave me that. It’s real platinum.”

Her girl sense peeking out, she is immediately impressed by the valuable metal. “Platinum?! That’s amazing! Can I take a look at it?”

“Of course! There.” as Dylan hands the pocket watch to her. She opens it, seeing the picture of Dylan. “Wow! There’s a socket for a picture. You know, maybe, well… w-we could take a picture together, a-and put it in there, it’d be like, v-very cute… haha!”

Selene stutters in her speech, embarrassed as she talks to Dylan. To her surprise, he seems pleased by the idea. “That sounds awesome! Me, you and Cedric, together as best friends!”

Selene feels a bit crushed: “Aah, I-I meant, like, it’s a good idea, but just, I think, it’d look really great, if well, it was just between, uhm, you and me.”

The boy turns toward her, stopping. “You did that again. I didn’t hear anything” referring to her habits of talking in a low voice.

“A-ah, I’m sorry, I’m really trying to, w-well, fight this whole thing, and yes, I just meant it’s a really good idea!” does she says, slightly in panic and blushing.

”We’ll do that later. We’re at Elm’s lab.”

Selene nods. “Let’s go in!”

She looks at Dylan. “If Elm is up making some sort of deadly beast… I hope you can protect me.” as she plays with her fingers and twist her foot around.

Dylan laughs. “I don’t think that’ll happen, but sure.”

They approach their hand from the handle, but before the two can even touch it, a distant voice in the background calls. “Selene! Selene, over here!”

She turns herself, observing the horizon for a moment, before noticing a man. He was quite young, for an adult, and had a very muscular composure. Tall guy, with blond, spiky hair. Tank top, military jeans. Standing bravely, he was waiting for Selene, a brown bag in hand.

Selene approaches the man. Dylan follows shortly behind, but she’s rushing much faster than him. “Dad! What are you doing here?” Selene says, as she closes to him.

“Shouldn’t you be at work?” she says, happily.

“I’m heading out there, sweetie. I called you because you left your cellphone at home.”

Selene is surprised, yet, leave a small sigh of relief. She handpicks it from the brown bag, at the same time, feeling a strange texture.

“Dad… did you forget your suit again?” as she puts her cellphone in her pocket.

Mason hastily shoves his hand in the bag, taking out a weird, white blanket. “Eh… oops.”

As Dylan is still watching from afar, not trying to disturb the quality father and daughter time, she shakes her head. “You’re so dumb, dad.”

Her dad’s ego, offended, instinctively forces him to push her daughter to the ground. She groans, falling on the rugged rocky path, bruising herself slightly, with visible marks on her arms. “Argh!”

Dylan watches from afar, slightly disturbed, but without interfering with their fight. If this wasn’t Selene, he would have called the police immediately. Instead, he observes their odd traditions, letting a light chuckle.

“What’s that, girl? Can’t even take a shove?” Mason says, laughing. Selene grunts, then gets up. “Hiyya!” she shouts while planting a kick right under her father’s knee.

A regular person would be crying on the ground. At least- that’s what Dylan felt he would do. But Mason took it as if it was nothing, but still groaned out in pain, as Selene was proudly smiling, almost sadistically. “Argh!”

He slightly bent himself over, trying helplessly to reduce the pain. From behind, appeared another man. Slightly taller than Mason, yet, not anywhere near as muscular, with messy, short and brown hair, and clothes like he has just awoken. The glasses instantly gave away how much of a nerd he is, compared to Mason. 

“Mason, you forgot your suit.”

“Aahh.. t-thanks…” Mason says, agonizing in pain. Val hands over a brightly white one piece of a swimsuit to him, but Mason doesn’t have time to grab it. Selene’s plot was simple. Sneak behind her father, then kick him right in the ass.

Mason’s fall was unavoidable. Right on Val. He falls on him, and both are rendered in an awkward position.

Their eyes meet, blushing slightly. Face to face, the roommates were connected to each other. Val is too flushed, and can’t even speak. “I-I’m sorry, Val.” Mason says, as he tries to get up.

But Selene plants her foot right on her father’s head, planting it on Val’s belly, adding an extra layer of rushing blood to their face.

Mason impulsively raises his head, making Selene loses her balance and trip, but Dylan wasn’t far behind to catch her up, preventing a second fall.

“You have quite a unique family, don’t you?” Dylan says. “Aha, yeah, i-indeed!” she replies anxiously, catching herself up. She had forgotten that Dylan was watching in the background.

Mason and Val both gets up, cross stares for a while, still feeling embarrassed. Mason finally nods, shouting quite high. “Well, I have to go! Uh, see ya, Selene and Dylan, and you too, Val!” as he bolts away from the scene.

Val scratches his head. He waves at Selene and Dylan. “H-Have a nice day, kids.” before going back inside his house.

Dylan looks smugly at Selene. “So, seeing how strong you are, maybe you should be the one protecting me, hm?”

Selene blushes. “W-wait, I mean, you’re more courageous, a-and, wait, why are you laughing?!” as Dylan cuts her with giggles.

“Come on, Selene, let’s just go see Elm. I don’t want you to beat me up.” Dylan says while moving toward the lab.

Selene panics, catching up to him. “I-I’d never lay a hand on you! It’s just games between me and my dad…”

Dylan reassures her by a few pats on the shoulder. “I know. You've been a hardhead forever. And it’s okay, don’t worry about it.”

Selene sigh. “A hardhead- I mean- quit working me up like this!"

They arrive in front of the laboratory, Dylan laughing a little at how he's teasing Selene.

Dylan, once again, observes Elm’s laboratory. “Big!”

“Well, it’s not that I’m in a hurry, but let’s go before we meet more interrupting weirdos.” Selene says, holding her hand on the door.

She turns the knob and enters. It was living and bursting with scientific tubes, experiment tables, or odd flasks. Elm was sitting on a chair, at the back of the lab, in front of an odd machine containing three red and white orbs.

“Is that what I think, Dylan?” Selene says excited. Dylan still observes the balls, oddly reminding him of Poké Balls.

“Do you think we can get a Pokémon today? Oh my gosh!!”

Elm, hearing that, gets up, and notice the two teenagers. “There you are! Thought you’d decide to ditch the day!”

Selene rush toward him. “Professor. I can’t stand the wait. Is it a Pokémon you’re giving to us?!”

The Professor, invaded by Selene’s bright aura, hastily nods. “I-It is indeed for that. Mostly, for researching purpose.”

Excited, she gets even closer to the professor, pushing him back slightly, displacing his glasses. “When are we gonna have it?! Now?”

He replaces his glasses properly, and nod. “Yeah, now. B-But I was planning on letting Dylan chose first. You know, it’s, well, his birthday.”

She finally calms down, backing off from Elm, laughing, quite embarrassed of herself. “Oh, haha, yeah. Dylan, are you ready to chose one?”

Dylan has been observing Selene’s hyper behavior from the entrance of the lab, and begins to walk toward them after Selene’s call. “Getting a Pokémon? Really? That sounds pretty incredible, to be honest!”

“Do you think we’re ready for this, professor?” Selene adds.

The professor looks around, slightly skeptical. He scratches his beardless chin, seemingly slightly worried. “Well… I certainly hope.”

Elm then turns to the previously referred machine, approaches it, then grabs the three Poké Balls. He calls out the three Pokémon held inside, summoned onto the ground.

“I present to you: Chikorita, Cyndaquil and Totodile!” Elm says, happily, his arms wide open, showing off the said Pokémon.

“(What? We’re out? Isn’t it early for playtime?)” Chikorita says, looking around.

The Totodile shakes its head. “(... Ay ay ah! Look! More humans!)”

“(... I don’t like this…)” as the Cyndaquil retreats behind the Totodile.

Dylan and Selene bends slightly over. “Woah! They’re all so adorable!” Selene shouts.

“I know, right?!” Dylan chains.

“(I feel really weird about these humans watching us.)” Totodile says, spreading his hand in front of Cyndaquil, as a form of protection.

Chikorita, on the other hand, was rather curious of the human. It approaches Selene a bit more, looking at her.

“Look, Dylan! It’s staring at me! It’s so cute!” Selene says, excited. Dylan nods, observing the Pokémon with passion. “Pokémon are amazing. They look so special and unique!”

Chikorita slightly cringes from this, looking away.

“(... T-This is weird…)” Cyndaquil says, before running away to hide behind the professor.

Totodile relaxes a bit. “(I mean, they’re complimenting us, aren’t they? Can’t be that bad.)” As it takes a fierce position, smiling like a smug, enjoying the compliments it takes

In his corner, Elm giggles, seeing, in the two teenagers, his own youth, the first time he’d meet a Pokémon. “I generally go out, everyday, 3 hours later from now, to make them play around. I’ve noticed how making them do exercise was good for them, in overall.”

“Let me tell you a bit more about them, huh?” Elm says.

He crouches down and pat the Cyndaquil, who answers back by soft groaning. “This is Cyndaquil. It’s a fire type Pokémon.”

“(No fair. I want pats too!)” Totodile says. Chikorita bumps it, saying “(You always talk too much.)” Totodile respond by pushing it back, prompting a grunt from it.

“Cyndaquil has been known to be very, very strong! No one matches it in combat, and its flames have been combusting more than simple leaves.” Elm says while getting up.

Elm walks to and grabs Totodile, giving it a nudge, that also seemed to please it. “Totodile’s prime attribute is its high aggressivity and high bites. It’s a water type Pokémon.”

Elm puts Totodile back, then pat Chikorita’s leaf. “Chikorita, the grass type Pokémon, unlike the two other, isn’t as powerful, but it’s more tricky and studies its enemy more, allowing it to have a lot of advantage in battle.”

“(Why is it describing us like weapons?)” Chikorita said, grumpy.

“Why are you describing them like weapons?” Dylan said, skeptical.

Dylan, of course, didn’t understand what the Chikorita said, as nothing other than anagrams of 'Chikorita' came out of its mouth, to him.

But Chikorita, on the other hand, heard Dylan well, and observed him with passion. The sort of research passion- curiosity that blossomed in its heart- it needed to know more about that human.

Dylan lifts himself up, and so does Selene. He looks at Elm. “How about their personalities?”

“Ahah, uhm… yeah. Well, Cyndaquil is a very shy Pokémon. It has shown to have a hard time making friends with others. But I think it’s comfortable with Totodile and Chikorita. It’s also quite easily scared. And when you befriend it, it gets really clingy on you. It’s really affectionate to people it trusts, I suppose.”

“(W-what..? T-That’s not true… I’m not easily scar-)” Cyndaquil says before being interrupted by Totodile. “(What he said is a hundred percent truth. And you know it.)”

Cyndaquil drops his head down, conceding defeat. “(I-I guess you’re right…)” he says. Chikorita rambles a bit about Totodile in its corner, looking grumpy.

“As for Totodile? I suppose, it’s ferocious and aggressive, as I mentioned. It also easily gets jealous or really stubborn at times, and loves to do things its own way, so it may even get bossy with you. I would sometimes say that it really needs to work on its anger issues.”

Wrathful, the Totodile’s head burn up red. It aims at the Elm, then spits water violently at its face and chest area for a short moment.

“(That is not even true. Elm is just talking shit!)” he says, after finishing wetting the professor.

“(Good job, Totodile, you just confirmed to the two of them that you do have anger issues.)” Chikorita says.

“Haha, as you can see… it gets quite mad.” Elm says. “I hope you don’t mind if I change shirt quickly…” he adds, taking off his lab coat and his shirt.

Dylan observed Elm’s torso. More than he ever did before.

Never in his life has he cared so much for a shirtless man.

Elm’s body wasn’t muscled. He looked quite like a regular person, just in the middle. Not too skinny, not too fat.

Selene looked away, of course, taking out her phone to check it, in the meanwhile.

But Dylan... he just risked himself to get caught staring.

From the shoulders- they looked frail, but able to handle a hit. The chest- the two chest plates weren't developed, but they made a lovely curve. His nipples- they were a rosy pink, and it was the first time Dylan's ever cared for them. His stomach- hairless, smooth, and well taken care of. Just beautiful. His navel- deep, black, kind of sexy. Perfectly positioned. His V-line- barely visible, but just there enough to trigger heat in Dylan's cheeks.

Elm grabs a shirt from a pile, then put it on along with another lab coat. Dylan snaps out of it, in the meanwhile, realizing what he’s been doing. He slightly blushes, hoping nobody noticed him.

In fact, nobody did. Well... except Chikorita. “(... Isn’t that a deviant and erratic behavior..?)” does it says, with a low voice, unheard by Totodile and Cyndaquil.

“A-alright. So, about Chikorita… I’ve noticed it’s quite calm, serious and docile. Yet, nice, I suppose. It’s quite an analyst… it studies its surrounding. Whenever I went out to let them play, Chikorita was always laid back, enjoying the sun and looking at people. Maybe it just likes staring, but I think it’s just that this leafy Pokémon is really smart.”

Chikorita felt slightly proud of itself. It tilted itself up slightly in sign of superiority, but mostly to taunt Totodile, who eyerolls away from Chikorita.

“But all this just means it can be a bit boring to hang around it. It can battle, but seems disinterested in it.”

Chikorita’s pride quickly fades off. Totodile smirks and chuckles maliciously at it. “(Elm is right. Most humans are really interested in battle… that’s not something I am good at. Tch.)” Chikorita thinks to itself.

It turns its head, losing itself in its own thoughts. “(It’s not like I actually cared a lot if any of them picks me. Totodile will probably feel proud and Cyndaquil will make a new friend. Staying with Elm is… fine. Yeah.)”

“So, Dylan, which one appeals to you?” Elm says, his arm wide.

“Eh, oh, boy.” Dylan says, surprised. “They all look really nice to hang out with."

Dylan observes the three Pokémon. “If I don’t pick one, someone else will pick it, right?” he says.

“Of course! Don’t worry too much about it. Just pick the one you prefer.” Elm says, moving about happily.

“Hmmm… I’d love to be able to make friends with Cyndaquil and show it that I’m not a person to be afraid of.”

“And I’d also love to play around with Totodile. It seems energetic enough, and I’m sure it’s pretty awesome!”

Totodile bumps Chikorita. “(Guess who’s going out for a big trip? Meeee, baby!)”

Chikorita pushes it back and “tsk”. It looks the other direction. Its heart hurts a bit. It didn't even want a trainer. But... somewhere, deep in its soul, it probably wanted one.

“But... I think I’d chose Chikorita. I like how it looks. Its gentle personality is also perfect for me.” Dylan says, as he bends down to Chikorita.

Totodile is purely shocked, but so is Chikorita. “(What? I can’t believe this. Chikorita over me?!)”

Chikorita, as the analyst it is, thinks thoroughly. “(The human chose me for my personality and my looks. And… if I analyzed right, my kind of personality and my species are often and oddly enough considered female in the human’s perspective. Is this fact linked with the human’s deviant behavior? It's...) ”

Selene doesn’t take her time, rushing ahead her choice. “Well, I’m taking Totodile! It’s super cute and I’d love a courageous Pokemon to battle with me!”

Totodile, in pure excitement, happily smiles, then throws himself in the arms of Selene, who catches it swiftly.

She holds Totodile up, calling its name. “Totodile, Totodile! We’ll make a great team!”

Cyndaquil was slightly disappointed. “(Am… am I that unlikable?)”

Totodile looks at it. “(No, No! Elm said that there’d be another trainer.)”

Elm crouches to pick up Cyndaquil. “Don’t worry, little guy. Someone else is going to pick you up.”

Talking about the beast, they all hear the door of the lab opening. “Am I late? Sorry.” Cedric says, his hand on the handle. Dylan and Selene turns to him. Dylan rapidly avoid eye contact with him, turning to Chikorita.

“And here is your new owner, Cyndaquil!” Elm says, handing up Cyndaquil toward Cedric.

“Aren’t I supposed to have a choice?” Cedric says, walking toward him.

“Well, I told you all to be there by 9. These two were already a bit late.” Elm said, giving Cedric the Cyndaquil, who picks it up in its arm.

“Other than that… I’ve got a little arranging to do with their Poké Balls. Why don’t you carry them outside your balls, for now? Come back at noon, and I’ll have your stuff ready, including your Trainer Pad.”

Selene smiles, looking at the professor. “No worries!”

Dylan picks up Chikorita, who lets itself get picked up. He pats its leaf gently.

Chikorita felt comfortable within the human’s grasp. “(Wow…. this human is very comfortable. I like the patting. Elm didn’t do that. Is it... the deviant theory... ohh, this feels great.)”

“I… I think I’ll go, now.”

Cedric closes the door. “Hold up, princess.”

Usually, Dylan would only be mildly annoyed by that. But, because of what happened, Dylan is ever more uncomfortable and embarrassed.

“How about some battles before we go? Isn’t that what Pokémon are made for?” Cedric said, with a smirk across his face.

Elm, who was just at his computer, minding his own business, popped a little quote. “Just don’t wreck anything in my lab, or I’ll make you pay.”

Dylan was concerned. He was squeezing Chikorita a bit stronger in his arms, looking back and forth at Elm and Cedric. “No! I-I don’t want! T-That’s just wrong?! Right, Selene?”

Selene was a bit pumped. “I-I mean… what? C’mon, Dylan… it could be fun! I’m in! Are you, Totodile?”

Totodile was jumping in excitement, nodding to Selene. Its gaze shifted back and forth, from Chikorita to Cyndaquil. “(When was the last time we battled, all of us, together?)”

Chikorita was visibly annoyed. It instantly jumped off Dylan, looking at Cedric. It then turned its head away, sassily, indicating that it doesn't care for him and his battle.

“(I-I don’t want to fight, either…)” Cyndaquil said, curling up in Cedric’s arms, trembling a bit. He was oddly comfortable with him.

“So, you guys… you picked the best Pokémon, and left me with the wuss?” Cedric said, looking at and patting Cyndaquil.

Totodile’s expression changed from excited to angry. It approached Cedric, seemingly upset about calling his friend a wuss. “(Does he have no shame?! Don’t listen to him, Cyndaquil.)”

“(But… he is right…)” Cyndaquil comforted himself in Cedric’s arms. He felt where he belonged. “(I’m a real wuss.)”

Totodile turned back, walking back to Selene’s side. “(You really have no pride.)”

“Well, as for me, I-I’m going home!” Dylan says, as he picks Chikorita into his arms. He walks to the exit, but Cedric still blocks him.

“What? Can’t stand to stay around with me?”

“Or is it because of what happened yesterday night?”

Dylan’s face bursts into flames. He visibly gets more and more red as moments pass. Selene looks more and more intrigued by the whole matter.

Dylan was upset and flustered. “Shut it, dumbass!” as he pushes Cedric away from the door, opens it, then leaves the lab, running steadily.

Cedric shouts outside to the running Dylan. “Meet us in my backyard, in an hour, so we can do some Pokémon battles!”

Selene was concerned. “Sure, but... what happened, with you and him, last night? Wasn’t it during your video game night?”

Cedric nods. “Nothing important. I’ll tell you later. And, by the way, you can join me and him for battles, too.”

“Will Dylan even come?”

“Probably. Who knows.”

Dylan put Chikorita in the ground. He was a bit exhausted from running. “Phew… ehm… sorry, Chikorita.”

Chikorita seemed a bit upset. It tilted its head, looking worried for Dylan.

“I-I had a very weird night, with Cedric, yesterday…”

His head was getting more and more red. “... Why did I let him do all of this… ugh. This is going to be on the back of my mind forever, I swear…”

Dylan seemed to talk to his Chikorita. As for it, it was silently watching and listening. “I-It was supposed to be a game night. I don’t know how it turned like... th… this?!”

Dylan sighed.

“Do you even understand me?”

The Chikorita nodded. “(Yes, I can).”

Dylan chuckled. "Well, it's not like I can understand you."

"But... I can talk to you, at least, right?"

The Chikorita nodded again.

Dylan smiled, holding it up in the air, happily looking at it.

"I really want us to be good friends, Chikorita."

Chikorita felt... oddly good. The amount of affection it was receiving... it was delicate.

It couldn't help but give a gentle smile, looking at him.

Its smile grew, and for once, it didn't feel the need to analyze the situation.

"(I... I hope we can be good friends too, Dylan.)"

"Let's go home, Chikorita."

Dylan put down the Chikorita, then began walking toward his house, with it following him.


	2. Strength Over Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've updated the first chapter and added parenthesis around Pokémon translated text. As such, humans don't understand what they're saying, and it should be assumed that the Pokémon are just saying anagrams of their names.
> 
> Let's take a look at some battles and some surprise mom backstory

Dylan closed the door on his back, holding his Chikorita within his arms.

"Alright... well, this is your new home, I guess."

The Chikorita bounced off, landing on the ground.

Rose, cleaning the dishes, took notice of her son, hearing the door closing. "Dylan! You're back!"

"Oh, yeah. Hi, mom. Still got pancakes for me?"

"Mhmm. They're right there, on the counter. A bit cold, though." She pointed a plate of pancakes.

"Cool! But... uh, mom. You might want to look at this..?"

"Hmm? What is it?"

Rose turned, taking notice of the Chikorita, who was looking at her.

"Oh. That's a Pokémon. Did you get it from Elm?"

"Yeah!"

Dylan picked up Chikorita, then walked toward his mom, holding it in his arms.

"I had a choice between three Pokémon. I chose this one, though. It looks calm, and doesn't seem to like to battle. I think it'd be a great friend for me."

Rose laughed, then gave a pat to the Chikorita. It flinched back in responses, fearing the other human. "It's adorable!"

Dylan looked down at Chikorita. "This is my mom. You should get used to her."

"Mhm. Would you like some pancakes, too, Chikorita?"

Chikorita tilted its head. "(Pancakes?)"

Dylan grabbed Chikorita like a puppy, holding it in the air, looking at it. "Pancakes are awesome!"

Rose grabbed the plate of pancakes. "I'll heat them up."

"Thanks, mom. I'll go show my room to Chikorita."

Dylan walked toward the stairs.

"This is the living room slash kitchen... we do a lot of things here."

"My mom's room is down there, so you probably shouldn't go there unless you need to."

"That's the bathroom door... and upstairs is my room. You're welcome in there anytime."

"In fact... let's go there."

Dylan, still carrying Chikorita, climbed the stairs, which led to his room.

It smelled like teenager. It was a bit strong, but not enough for Dylan himself to notice.

Hinted at it by Dylan, Chikorita jumped off from his embrace, taking its first step inside the room. "Well... this is my room."

"Oh gosh... Chikorita. I didn't really get you a bed or anything."

Chikorita smiled, shaking its head. "(It's fine. I can sleep anywhere.)"

Dylan slightly bent his knees, placing his hands on them. He talked to Chikorita, looking down at it, due to its small size.

"Well... I'm not sure what you just said, but I can assume you said something such as... 'it's okay'?"

Chikorita nodded, its expression brightening.

"So... you can definitively answer yes or no questions, right?"

Again, Chikorita nodded. This time, its expression took a stern turn, as it looked at Dylan.

Its mouth open. This time, it wasn't repeating its own name. "Yes... questions... (I can answer them.)"

Dylan lifted himself up, shocked. "Wait- did you- did you just... did you just say 'yes'? And 'questions'?!"

His expression of fear betrayed his curiosity and shock- giving a bad impression to Chikorita. As if being scolded, it lowered its smile disappeared into a sad face, its head dropping along with its leaf.

"(Sorry.)"

Dylan shook his head. "Ah- no, no. It's okay. I was just surprised. I didn't know... I really didn't know! I thought no Pokémon could talk!"

Chikorita looked at him. It still felt a bit scolded, but took a leap of faith, nonetheless. "Learning. (I've been learning the human language for a while.)"

Dylan crouched, looking at Chikorita. "This is awesome, though! You really are smart! I am glad I picked you!"

Chikorita smiled. It was prideful. It felt its accomplishment recognized. It never told anyone before. Not even Elm. Why? It wasn't sure. At least, it knew it was trusting Dylan.

"Uh. Chikorita? Do you have... a name?"

Chikorita tilted its head. All that came out was a 'Chikorita'- from the questioning tone, it didn't look like it was saying its name was Chikorita.

"You know, something to identify you as a person. I might be a human, but I'm called Dylan."

It turned away, as if it was thinking. "Name... (I'd like one.)"

"Maybe we can decide your name together?" Dylan smiled, gently patting its leaf.

It nodded in response.

"Well... just so we can be clear... are you a female?"

Dylan had lots of ideas for female names- he always thought they felt more creative. He smiled in an optimistic way, slightly expecting it to nod.

This reaction wasn't well interpreted within its eyes. Is that further proof of the deviant theory it had brewed? It certainly looked like it.

If Chikorita said no, would Dylan resent it? It finally felt at ease with a like-minded trainer. It just didn't want to be left out. No time to think.

She nodded.

Dylan looked away, pensive. "In that case..."

There was regret in her eyes.

Suddenly bringing his attention back to her, he gleefully smiled. "Lily!"

"Do you like that name?"

Frankly, she didn't mind it at all. She wasn't subjected to gender norms at all.

Putting up her best smile, she nodded. "Lily! (That's a good name!)"

Dylan picked her up again. "Great, then! Let's go eat some pancakes, Lily!"

She had no idea what were pancakes. But she still felt excited, smiling, feeling comfort with Dylan. "(Yeah!)"

* * *

"This is going to be easy."

"You do know I have type advantage over you, right?"

Wind flew past them, in an almost cinematic way. Facing each other, they both were ready for a battle.

"Totody! Do... uh, the thing!"

Totodile glared at Cyndaquil, who was easily intimidated by it. Ready for the move, it reared itself, but was interrupted by Cedric.

"Hold up. Hold up. The hell is a 'Totody'?"

Selene shifted a bit, looking skeptical, surprised by Cedric's reaction. "Uh... it's a nickname."

"Really? That's hella gay. I just call my little dude Cyndaquil."

"No, it's not! And stop using that term as an insult, geez!"

Cedric rolls his eyes. "Pfft. And what the hell is 'do the thing'?"

Selene put a finger on her chin. "Uhh... I've never done this, so... I really don't know how it works."

"Cyndaquil, Fire Rocket, like we trained to do so!"

"W-Wait, you trained?!"

Selene didn't have the time to get an answer, and Cyndaquil made a semi-frontflip, landing its back on Totody.

Totody panicked a bit, as it didn't get any real order. It had no idea what 'doing the thing' was. "(C-Cyndaquil, wait, wait!)"

It didn't get any time to do anything- Cyndaquil's back reared in strong flames for a second, bursting onto Totody in strong heat.

The burst of fire made a rocket effect- sending Cyndaquil back to its original position, with a lovely backflip.

A tear swelled in Totody's eyes- it might not have been an overly effective attack, it wasn't trained for battle. Just for wild assault.

"That's not fair, Cedric! I thought we were all gonna be beginners! It hasn't EVEN been half an hour, so how did you train your Cyndaquil so fast?"

"(Yeah, how the hell did you do that?)"

Cedric got on one knee, giving pats to Cyndaquil. "He's a fast learner."

"(H-He yelled a bit on me... but it worked. I-I'm stronger, now! ... I-I think, at least...)"

Getting up, Cedric readied himself for Cyndaquil's next move, but Totody didn't wait for an order from Selene. Without hesitation, it started jetting water all over Cyndaquil.

"W-Wha... Totody!"

Clearly, Cyndaquil was not comfortable with that. Water gushing on a fire type Pokémon was not exactly a great situation.

Totody stopped, taking a smug look and a prideful stance. "(Take that! Hmph!)"

Cyndaquil was shaking and quaking, withdrawn on itself.

Within a few seconds, the trembling stopped, and it felt to the ground.

Cedric was a bit surprised. He crouched down, grabbing Cyndaquil as quickly as he could.

Selene, herself, stood in awe. "... Did... uh, did I win?"

Totody began jumping around in happiness, smiling, looking at Selene. "(We did it, we did it!)"

Cedric looked at her, then back at Cyndaquil.

He began gently patting it, making it feel more comfortable in his grasp. You guys really left me with the big pussy? Jeez, it's really unfair."

"Cedric, stop calling it that." Selene showed disapproval. Cyndaquil had fought well- honestly, it probably was just the type matchup.

"Cyndaquil fought well, I think! It's probably because Totody had an advantage over it."

"Tsk. I still trained for this. You? You're just an amateur, Selene. It's this little dude. Weak, and a big coward. Fault's on him."

His actions betrayed his words completely- he was patting, comforting, and holding Cyndaquil tight. Despite this, all of his word seemed genuine.

"Come on, Cedric, stop!"

Totody joined in, pointing finger at Cedric. "(Yeah, that's really rude!)"

Cyndaquil purred a weak response to Totody. "(H-He... he's right, though. I'm useless... a-and I can't be strong...)"

Cedric didn't bother to answer, and simply sat down on one of the little stool in his backyard.

Selene leaned against the wall of her house.

"Dylan won't come, will he?"

Cedric perched up, looking at Selene. "Yes, he will."

"How do you know?"

He shrugged, turning his attention back to Cyndaquil.

"Gut feeling."

* * *

"How come you'd say no?"

"Mom, I have no interest in those battles. I'm pretty sure Lily doesn't, either."

Rose took a skeptical look, observing Dylan munch down on three pancakes, giving nibbles to Lily.

"You've never gave it a try."

"... Still. Me and her are calm buddies. We don't need a lot of action."

"Have you never dreamt of just... going on a Pokémon journey?"

"Really? You mean... those crazy moms that send out their ten years old kids on insane journeys across entire regions?"

Rose chuckled. "Well... that, but with more logic and reason behind it."

"I don't know..."

"Come on, Dylan. It could be fun! You never know."

"I don't want to battle, mom. I'm sure Cedric and Selene are having fun with that. I'm gonna stay on the sides."

"Well, you still should go. I'm sure you and Cedric need to have a little talk, together."

It didn't take long for Dylan's heartbeat to race and his cheeks to rush with blood. "What? Talk about what? There's nothing to talk about. Nothing."

His voice was visibly strained and anxious. He was one of the worst liar in the world. Anyone with half a brain cell could figure that out.

Rose sighed, smiling and looking at Dylan, gently petting his head, rustling his hair- he usually takes off his cap in the indoors.

"After you woke up, he told me..." she hesitated. "That you had a disagreement."

Dylan panicked. Thank god, he told himself. Cedric didn't spill it out. "What- uh. Sure. Yeah, a disagreement." He latched on his own mother's story, feeling like it was a good way to explain it.

Lily hopped off from Dylan's lap. It twirled its leaf once, then took a battling stance, keeping a neutral face, all while looking at him.

"Battle... (I'm not a good battler, but I'll try)"

Rose was surprised, moving herself to see Lily better.

"Oh! She talked! She said 'battle'! That's amazing."

"Do you know if it's normal?" Dylan crouched, giving gentle pats on Lily's leaf, calming it down. "Don't get me wrong- I still think it's cool."

"I've known about that. It's rare- usually, they're Pokémon that try to civilize themselves, and establish real human link with us."

"But... Lily, right? She doesn't look like that. she just looks like she's smart, and seems like she's just learned it as she lived."

Dylan looked at Lily another time. "You really are a very bright Pokémon, aren't you?"

Lily smiled gently, rubbing its head against Dylan. "(I try my best.)"

Dylan got up, then walked toward the front door. "So... you want to try battling, Lily?"

She nodded gently, ready to brawl. Her smug smile gave away her excitement, contrasting with her initial reaction toward Cedric's challenge.

"Okay, then, Lily. Do you know some battling moves? I have no idea what yours are."

Rose approached Lily. "You haven't fought before, have you?"

Lily waved her head to the side- indicating a doubt. Maybe she did? Wasn't sure.

Rose turned her back to Lily. "I see, I see. Why don't you hold on? I'll be back in a flash."

Dylan tilted his head slightly, watching his mother rush downstairs- to her room, specifically.

Lily looked at Dylan, as if asking if he knew what Rose was doing.

"Don't look at me like that- I have no idea."

Footsteps were heard, and she was going back up. This time, she held a Poké Ball in her hand.

"Huh? Is that... a Poké Ball, mom?"

"Yup! When I was younger, I used to like Pokémon a lot. I didn't go on a journey, but I had my friend with me."

"How come you've _never_ mentioned that?"

"Well, this geezer is going senile. He must be over 40 years, by now, and he keeps sleeping. When you were smaller, you also were scared of Pokémon, so I couldn't really just leave him out."

"Mom- I'm not scared of Pokémon, anymore."

"Good."

Without a second of hesitation, she called out her Pokémon: it was a glorious, vivid pink Slowpoke. And it was sleeping. If it wasn't even waken up by being called out, there's no way it could battle.

"Say hello to Slowpoke!"

"It's... uh... he's sleeping."

"Yup."

"Truthfully, I've been forgetting about him a lot, over the years. He's been stuck in my old drawer."

"Is that healthy for him?"

"Don't worry about it."

Lily walked in front of it, booping its sleepy face.

Rose began walking to the kitchen, then grabbed a rolling pin. "Alright, Lily. This'll be your first opponent!"

Lily expressed confusion- the same as Dylan. "But... mom, he's sleeping."

"I know", she said, raising the rolling pin over Slowpoke. "Give him a few minutes."

Lily flinched back in horror as Rose striked down the rolling pin on Slowpoke's head. Instantly, Dylan backed off. "Wh- What the fuck, mom?"

Rose puts her hands on her hips, looking angrily at Dylan. "Now, now, language, Dylan!"

The slowpoke looked unphased for several second, while Dylan and Lily panicked.

Dylan had a stern look of worry and anguish. "Mom- this- this is abuse, mom!"

Lily backed out, taking a battling stance against Rose. "(Is she a Pokémon or something?)"

She put the rolling pin back on the counter. "You guys don't know how Slowpoke work, do you?"

Dylan observed Slowpoke. It was still snoring. "Huh... he's sleeping?"

"Mhm. This guy doesn't take pain. He's the perfect punching bag, which is why, we'll train you on him, Lily!"

Lily had a skeptical look on her face- what the hell was that about? She looked down on Slowpoke, who suddenly had his eyes open, but with an idiotic, dumbfounded smile, looking at Lily.

She flinched back again, surprised and spooked of the Slowpoke. His blatant smile was even creepier- especially after being hit by a goddamn rolling pin.

"Now, now. Don't worry, Lily. I promise he doesn't take any pain."

"Why, though?"

"I've had him since I was a little girl! Probably even younger than you. And now... I'm in my 40's, you know."

"But... do all Pokémon turn like that?"

"No, no. Not at all. That's just how Slowpokes are."

"What do you mean?"

She slammed her foot onto Slowpoke's face, crushing it. "It's got slow in the name, Dylan."

Once more- they flinched back. Rose... she always was so sweet, kind, adorable. This vision of her abusing a seemingly mentally impaired Pokémon was true nightmare fuel.

"M-Mom, you don't need to keep hitting him like that!"

"Slowpokes are so slow that they can't even realize they're in pain."

"When I was younger, though... Slowpoke was excited. It was like a dog Pokémon. It wanted to play all the time."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I wanted to be a Pokémon trainer, when I was young. I wanted to run the world with Slowpoke. Evolve him into a Slowking... and get all the badges!"

"... Why didn't you do it, then?"

She smiled, looking away. She sat on Slowpoke's back- making it topple down, its little legs sprawled out.

"When I was a little girl, our family was barely handling itself with money. I couldn't just up and leave- I had to help around the house. Plus, I'd just run out of money ASAP if I just left."

"Oh. When did you even get Slowpoke?"

She laid her arm upward, observing her fingernails. "Honestly? Luck. I found a stray Poké Ball. It was empty, and I didn't know who dropped it, so I just took it."

She clenched her fist, smiled, and look at Dylan. "I kept it for several days. Eventually, I was determined to catch a Pokémon with it."

"At first? I just wanted to sell it. I knew it'd help with our situation."

"But when I managed to catch Slowpoke..." She gave a few pats on Slowpoke's head. "I fell in love with him. I couldn't sell him."

"And we lived together... and we had a lot of fun. It was my very own Slowpoke."

"At first, I thought it would be greater expenses for our family... but turns out they don't actually need to get fed." She took the Poké Ball from her hammerspace, "Apparently, the Poké Balls handle that job."

"Fast forwarding to the present day... oops. I got a bit too deep in my backstory. Sorry, Dylan."

Dylan shifted himself. "Eh, it's fine."

Rose finally got up, releasing the pressure from Slowpoke's back, who remained sprawled out on the floor, too idiotic to respond.

"Alright, Dylan! You make my dream come true! You'll beat the two others, and I'm gonna train you for that!"

"Mom, come on..."

Lily took a few steps forward, looking at Slowpoke again.

Rose shouted strongly. "Lily! Can you use the move Razor Leaf? Show it to me on Slowpoke!"

She took a few step back- shouting her own name, she swiped her leaf forward, which generating a bright leaf, looking just like a blade.

It came crashing down on Slowpoke, making his head fly backward, then crashing down on the ground. Its face looked just as retarded as ever, with the creepy smile still ahead.

Lily watched him, surprised of the lack of reaction... but then again, not so much. "(Is he okay?)"

A little few second of silence, and Slowpoke emitted a dead grunt. It was low-pitched, had no effort to it, and it sounded like absolutely nothing.

"That must be from the first rolling pin blow!"

"Mom, why do you sound happy of that?!"

"I just wish he would kick-start up and act like a puppy again. But... anyway!"

Rose pointed at Lily. "You've got the move Stun Spore and Vine Whip, right?"

Lily nodded. "Yeah..."

"Say it with more conviction, Lily!"

Lily flinched slightly, then frowned, feeling more confident. "Yeah!"

"This isn't old school Pokémon anymore, and you know it!"

She looked at Dylan, looking fiercer than ever- she was burning in a bright aura, like she was getting ready to start her _own_ Pokémon journey.

"Dylan! You too, you should know it!"

He looked at her with a worried smile. "W-What do you mean by that, mom?"

"You know, trainer pads? Pokémon civilisations?" Her mom looked at him, her eyes getting a bit creepy in obsession. "Battle domes? The diversification project?"

"Mom, I have NO idea what Pokémon are. I've been an attic gamer since I'm at least 12, so don't act like I should know that."

Rose calmed down, backing off a bit from Dylan. She sighed. "You've got a lot to learn, huh?"

"Well... Elm did mention something about trainer pads. Actually, what time is it?"

"It's 11am. Why?"

"Elm told us to come at noon for them. I'm assuming he'll explain how they work at the same time."

"Well, if we take a few minutes to train Lily, then you go and beat Cedric and Selene, you should be in time!"

Dylan rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "Do I really have to, mom?"

She approached him from behind, putting her hands on his shoulders. "Won't you make me happy?"

"I don't want to do battles, mom. That's a no."

She hugged Dylan- it felt warm, soft, sweet. Mom hugs are just the best. She rubbed her cheeks gently against Dylan's. "Come on... Dylan..."

Dylan had a soft for hugs, and he couldn't really say no to his mom- but this time, he decided to man up, turning his head away from her. "... Mmm. No means no, mom..."

Rose got a bit annoyed, but smiled devilishly. She knew a week spot. With a forced sweet tone, she put a finger on Dylan's cheek.

"Aren't you supposed to talk to Cedric about your..." she used her other hand, right in front of Dylan's face, waving finger quotes. "Disagreement?"

Dylan's cheeks flushed- he got very flustered, freeing himself from mom's grasp, looking at her, panicked. "No, I don't need to! I-It doesn't matter!"

Rose chuckled, a coy smile coming across her face as she watched her embarrassed son.

"Seriously, why are you laughing?! And what's with the finger quoting?! Y-You don't know anything that's happened between us!"

"Aww, what's wrong? You can tell me anything! I'm sure you don't want to talk about Pokémon and prefer talking about..." she waved her hands around, sticking her left index inside a hole made by her right index and thumbs. "that."

Dylan was more and more embarrassed- his breathing paced faster, and everything felt hot to him. He felt ashamed, completely ashamed. Anger boiled in him against his mom- she'd been pretending, but Dylan knew that she _knew_ what had happened last night.

She approached Dylan, patting his head gently. "So, how about a deal?"

Dylan frowned, looking back at Rose. His tomato head was warm to the touch. "What?"

"We don't talk about what you and Cedric did, and you go do some Pokémon adventure, hm?"

Dylan looked left and right. He looked back at Lily, who was poking Slowpoke with her leaf, visibly trying to avoid whatever debate happened between her owner and his mom.

"You... you know? How?"

"Don't bother asking. I can't tell you now."

Dylan looked down. "... Are you mad at me?"

"No. I'm proud of you, Dylan. But..."

Dylan groaned. "You aren't supposed to talk about it!"

She held his cheeks up, lifting his heads to meet eye contact. "The whole dubious consent thing... watch yourself, okay? That's all."

Freeing himself from her grasp, he looked down. "... Okay."

"Now, Dylan, Lily, Slowpoke! Let's train."

Dylan sighed, his red tint fading away. "Fine", he said, making himself look decent after his little fit. "So, what do we do first?"

Rose took a fierce pose, standing next to Lily. She was a bit intimidated, but managed to find the courage to listen to her. "(What's with her?)"

"You'll use your Vine Whip, your Razor Leaf, and your Stun Spore- assembled together, we can make an epic attack!"

Dylan was thinking, seeing pictures play in his hand. "Oh... I think I have something!"

"Do you, Dylan?", his mom says, quite optimistic.

"Well... Lily, what if you summoned a leaf full of stun spores... then manipulated it like a sharp whip- a sword, yeah!"

Rose clapped her hands. "Brilliant, brilliant! You're already ready to be a modern trainer- making up moves and training with them is a core part of it."

Dylan skeptically looked at his mom. "I... uh. I guess?"

Rose turned back to Lily. "Alright, Lily, you got all that?"

She tilted her head a bit, but frowned with a bright little smile. "Yes!"

Within moments, she began gracefully executing the sequence of action- she whipped her leaf around, sending a large glowing leaf flying in the air with low speed- she spread a burst of paralyzing pollens all over it, imbuing it in a yellow-ish aura, which was followed by her vine, which quickly grabbed the leaf.

She was armed with a large leaf- she strikes down on Slowpoke, slicing him over the head.

Truthfully, the effect wasn't as amazing as one would hope. More than likely- it's because of Slowpoke himself, who couldn't even feel pain. Also... outside of a battle dome, the power level was reduced by too much for it to do much of an effect.

Dylan sighed. "I still call that a success." He pat Lily's head.

Rose smiled, proud of Lily. "That's _definitively_ a success."

"I'm... I'm feeling ready to tackle on Cedric and Selene! Are you, Lily?"

Lily's special attack vanished out- it couldn't stay there forever. But her smile and nodding just took place.

They both were ready to tackle it on.

Unfound passion drove inside of Dylan's heart- he wanted to see Lily doing the move in action.

* * *

15 minutes later. Hanging behind his house.

Cyndaquil and Totodile were sitting near Selene, who, herself, was leaning against the wall, sitting with her knees up, holding her phone between them. The Pokémon were talking with each other, and Selene was busy texting her friends.

She had two best friends she's met online- they were across the regions, but that didn't stop them to play together that one mobile game she freaked over around a year and a half ago. And, frankly, it was just a boring clicker where you could do multiplayer raids.

Their relationship started as that, but as of now, they're talking more. With their little group chat, they hang about, talk about their lives in their respective regions, and spilling all the flash tea report.

**Selene kills you **(Selene#4295)****

i'm so sick of dylan acting so fucking OBLIVIOUS

how many hints do i need to drop wtf

sometimes i want to like just punch him or something and tell him hello bitch i like you

**tree lol (annie#9542)**

lol

desperate grrrl

ez

**Selene kills you (Selene#4295)**

stfu

like you know the other guy i told you guys about

cedric

he fucking went and bought him some platinum shit watch with some pendant locket to put a pic in

i REALLY wish he would ask me for a pic

**Dawn (Dawn#0001)**

Why don't you ask him?

You just sound dumb when you're hardly taking in any steps in.

**Selene kills you (Selene#4295)**

vanessa you don't know shit about how hard i'm trying

**Dawn (Dawn#0001)**

I probably know enough for me to say that, when talking to him, you keep acting like a little feminine girl.

Show him your macho sides. We'll talk after.

**tree lol (annie#9542)**

lmao epic roasted

foretintte

fortnite

**Selene kills you (Selene#4295)**

y'all are so annoying sometimes

love you all tho

no homo

**tree lol (annie#9542)**

except vanessa cz sh like tiddies

stop dming me asking for my tits you slujt

**Dawn (Dawn#0001)**

I'm not doing that

You know that I have standards

**tree lol (annie#9542)**

o h f cck oh shit i got roasted

**Selene kills you (Selene#4295)**

oh heres some good shit to even out the bad shit

sooo i got a pokemon and its dopeeee

**Dawn (Dawn#0001)**

How did you get one?

And which one did you get?

**tree lol (annie#9542)**

bet

ugly ass one

garbador

like ur mom loll

**Selene kills you (Selene#4295)**

shut your ass up annie

look at how cute it is

A light flashed from her phone- her face grinning. She immediately went back to texting.

Despite this, the move flash does lower accuracy.

"(What's the deal with her? She's done that flash thing three times, already!)"

"(I-It's called... a picture, I think.)"

The two Pokémon, as stated earlier, weren't far from Selene. They sat down next to each other, watching their surroundings.

"(Do you think Chikorita is okay?)"

Cyndaquil looks away, very nervous.

"(Y-Yeah... I just hope his trainer isn't asking him to do things he doesn't like.)"

Totody gave a pat on Cyndaquil... it was a lighthearted pat, but Cyndaquil could feel Totody tense.

"(Eh. That... 'Dylan' guy... sounded pretty calm and tame. Pretty sure he won't be coming to do battles.)"

He looked at Totody.

"(Ah- no, that's not what I meant... I-I also don't want to just leave Chikorita here forever!)"

"(What does it matter?)"

"(W-What are you saying? I-Isn't Chikorita your friend?)"

Totody flopped down on the floor, sprawling its limbs out on its back.

"(Ehhhhh.)"

Cyndaquil turned to him, his little snout poking one of Totody's arm.

"(W-What do you mean, 'ehhh'?!)"

Totody pushed Cyndaquil's snout in mild disdain.

"(Friend is a stretch. I'm pretty sure he doesn't lik me, either.)"

He sat down next to him.

"(Come on... Totodile... you guys just are a bit different. It doesn't mean you can't get along.)"

Totodile turned away, looking at Selene.

He gave a visible sigh, then, closed his eyes.

Cyndaquil worried himself a bit- he never liked having his statements ignored, but let it slide, still nervous.

But... still. What was going through Totody's mind?

"(It's... 'Totody', now, Cyndaquil.)"

"(Oh. S-Sorry. Y-You... uh, like that name?)"

"(Honestly? It sounds really stupid. But... hey, it's the nickname I got. I... uh, I guess... beggars can't be choosers.)"

"(But... you a-aren't a beggar.)"

"(I am. I've been wanting to fight for a long time, now. That wasn't the professor's main interest, though. I'm lucky that other guy didn't pick me. He looks like he'd stay and read books all day.)"

Cyndaquil gave out a small whimper. "(Why are you like this, Totodil- uh, I mean... T-Totody.)"

Totody lifted himself up, looking at Cyndaquil with a skeptical look. "(What are you talking about?)"

"(Usually... you are more excited. And prideful. And agresssive. A-And it's not a bad thing!)"

Totody got up- his expression was shaded, intimidating, making Cyndaquil back off. "(Well, I DO happen to have mood drops, from time to time.)"

He whimpered a bit more audibly, looking down. "(D-Did I do something?)"

"(No, you didn't... jeez, just leave me alone.)"

"(T-Totody, you can talk to me! Y-You don't have to push me back.)"

Totody looked at him, tilting his head downward- his face was screaming 'bullshit', accusing Cyndaquil of being too cheesy.

Cyndaquil smiled, giving a little blush. His big head and natural position blocked a part of the smile, but Totody could see it. "(We're friends, aren't we?)"

Totody smiled, patting him gently on the head. He gave a small sigh of relief.

"(Yeah, we are. Which is why...)"

Cyndaquil stayed silent, expecting him to talk more about his issues. Totody turned his back to him, though, with his hands behind himself.

"(Totody, I-)" but he was cut by a jet of water spraying right next to him, making him flinch. His eyes popped out unnaturally, looking at the small puddle on the ground, then back at Totody.

How fast did he recover his emo phase? He seemed jolly again, his usual self back.

"(We're playing 'dodge the water'!)", he said, a gleeful smile across his face.

Inside himself, Cyndaquil was happy and glad- but, on the other hand, he was about to be sprayed with... _water_.

He shivered. "(N-No, Totody! I-I don't want to pl-)"

His sentence was cut short by another jet of water, narrowing his back.

It didn't take long for Cyndaquil to be whining while being chased around by Totody, who definitively got his happy spirits back.

The small jets of water were definitively harmless, but it didn't stop Cyndaquil from being scared.

It took a few mouse and cat circles for Cedric to notice. Assuming the situation negatively, he got up from his tiny nap on the chair, walking near the two Pokémon.

He niftily grabbed Cyndaquil, making sure to comfort him in his arms, gently caressing it.

"Hey. Selene."

She unglued her face from her phone, looking at Cedric and the Pokémon. "Huh?"

"Your Totodile thing is bothering my Cyndaquil."

Selene chuckled. "Come on, Totody. You've already beaten it once."

Cedric glared at Selene, who remained unphased by his glance. "Don't call him an 'it'."

"Well, you've been calling... 'him' a guy, without even knowing if it is."

"He told me. That ain't so hard to ask."

"Pokémon can't talk, Cedric."

"Do you have all muscles and no brain? They can understand us. Just ask a yes or no question."

Selene's expression turned a bit sour, as if she was doubting it. She preferred to see Pokémon as pet who couldn't fully comprehend human language.

"... Would that really work?"

Cedric sighed loudly. He turned back to his chair, safely putting Cyndaquil down on it. He gave him a pat, then turned back to Totody.

He looked down at him, a disdain look on his face. "So, Totodo... or whatever stupid name she gave you..."

Totody growled lowly, exposing his sharp teeth, and squirting a little amount of water. It felt kind of tense for him- even Selene, who was watching from the side. Despite this, Cedric was chill. Being a grumpy-looking bitch was simply his base mood.

"Are you a female?"

He looked up at Cedric, not really wanting to answer- just based on his entire personality. But, nonetheless, he slowly shook his head, implying a no.

"So, you are a male, _right_?"

At that point, Totody was annoyed. Yes, he is a male. It's obvious. No need to ask. But... nonetheless, he nodded slowly, looking away, visibly irritated.

"See? He's a guy. Just like Cyndaquil."

She didn't bother looking at him- she was busy texting her friends, and, frankly, she didn't care that much. "Guess you're right. Cool."

He rolled his eyes. "When the fuck's Dylan coming, anyway? Can't you text him?"

"I don't think he's gonna come. If you want to text him, you do it yourself, man."

"Ugh. I'm starting to think he _won't_ actually come."

Selene put her phone in her pocket, grabbing Totody by the waist, bringing him to her. "Wouldn't surprise me."

She gave him a few pats- to her surprise, he was purring, like a little cat.

"Well, aren't you a feisty one."

He plopped around her lap like a dog, exposing his stomach to her. "(I love belly rubs, too.)"

Selene laughed, gently rubbing his belly, watching his pleased and content reaction. His little mlem face, with the tongue sticking out, was simply adorable.

In the meanwhile... a challenger appeared, from the other side of the house.

Dylan entered the front door of Cedric's house, wanting to head for the yard.

He didn't bother looking around too much- he already knew what the house looked like. He'd come over to play with Cedric, once in a while.

Cedric, though...

Lily was walking by his side. She didn't know what the house looked like, and it was somewhere new, to her. She observed it all around.

Normally, it would be a matter of simply crossing the living room and reaching the backyard.

In fact, he noticed Cedric there, sitting in the chair.

He wasn't exactly _ready_ to confront him about what happened. He knew he had to, but...

He shifted his eyes, darting them around the room, just like Lily was doing.

She was walking toward the backdoor, but Dylan had stopped. She turned herself, tilting her head slightly. She uttered a few words, mellowed in her adorable voice. "Battle?"

Dylan scratched his head, then began finger-gunning at Lily. "Uhh, yeah, yeah, totally!"

"I just thought... I, uh... need to get something from my room."

Lily looked skeptical. She approached Dylan, taking slower step. "I get? For you? (Do you want me to go get that?)"

"Yeah! Could you do that for me, please? That's be great! You remember the way home, right?"

She didn't doubt the word of Dylan. She simply smiled, nodding. "Yeah! (I've memorized it.)"

"Great! So, what I need... uh... it's..."

Dylan flickered in his mind.

Yes, he _was_ sending her for nothing.

No, he _did not_ need anything.

He _kind of_ needed an excuse. Right now. Anything.

Ah, but...

Lucky for him- he left the precious watch that Cedric had bought him at home.

"It's the watch! I left it in my bedroom- it's right on top of the drawer."

This'd be an adventure for her. He walked to the entrance, opening the door for her, as she tailed behind him.

"Thank you again, Lily!" as she scampered by.

He closed the door, sighing in relief. He was at Cedric's house, all alone. Well, except for the people in the backyard, but they didn't see him, anyway.

He rapidly went down the stairs- that's where Cedric's room was- and opened his door.

As the usual, it didn't smell the best. He was a _little_ crass, but nothing that made it hard to be around him, really. Just poor self-care.

Nonetheless, Dylan was used to that. But... on par with the subject, what did he come here to do?

He skimmed his eyes around the room. He knew he'd have around 10 or so minutes before Lily came back.

Dylan creeped toward the computer. He'd never really done that, but he wanted to pry on Cedric's private stuff.

It wasn't closed- everything was opened. He'd sometimes see Cedric on his PC, but with him having his own laptop, he didn't see the need to go on it. This time, he could see everything.

Well, at first glance, there wasn't that much. Games? Anime pictures? Yeah, not that surprising. Some of his art, too. It was pretty dope. He's drawn several characters he's imagined.

That was Tesha- Cedric told him about her a few years ago. He said that one of his dream was game development, and Tesha definitively was going to be a main character in his game series.

Agh- he's getting off track. He brushes the rest of his art- nothing too catchy.

Dylan looks for his own pictures- it's adorable, because there are pictures of him as a baby.

Some of them from the few festivals around New Bark Town. And he was included in a few of them. Oh, and even Selene!

Looks like he wasn't a heartless kid all this time, huh?

But... something caught his eyes. While browsing around the subfolders, he came across one that was labeled as "nudes".

He blushed a lot. That was, more than likely, _his own nudes_.

Dylan didn't exactly want to see them- somewhere, inside of him, there was something telling him to _not_ do that.

But, despite this...

Curiosity came over him.

He double clicked the folder icon.

But before he could see anything, his eyes shot straight upward, as he felt a touch to his waist- two hands, one on each sides.

And it couldn't be anyone else than him.

"Why would you look at this folder? You've got the real me."


	3. Showup, Showdown, and Show Over

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dylan getting kinky today watch out girls
> 
> I took a break inbetween the chapter so it does have a little weird split, don't mind it, it'll go back to regular now

She scampered around the town. She knew where she had to be headed, but she decided that she'd take a look at the town for a little while. A few extra minutes wouldn't hurt.

With a curious and analytic face, she wandered around, looking everywhere. Elm _did_ take her out to play, from times to times, but... where was that? A park, yeah. It was a very small playground for kids.

She didn't even know where it was- she mostly had to stay in her ball, so it's not like she knew what New Bark looked like. This was the most freedom she's ever had.

Wandering around, she looked like a wild Pokémon. She spotted two elderly women talking together, going back and forth on rocking chairs, right in front of their houses.

That was Ella and Hilda, the grandmas of the town. They've seen it all.

"(I really wonder what they're talking about...)"

She hesitated, at first, but decided to brave up and go see them, walking steadily, step by step.

"No... no, Ella. You don't mix sweet and salty."

"You've never tried."

"Well, I'm not trying your bacon-wrapped pineapples, no matter how stir-fried they are."

"Geez, you act like such an old hag..."

"Well, I happen to be one!" she wailed, grabbing her cane, then poking Ella with it. "So are you, actually!"

The two good wives began laughing. Bantering, that's what they loved.

Suddenly, Ella noticed Lily, who was sitting down near them, just... staring, silently.

"Oh. That's a Chikorita. Look, Hilda."

She shifted her attention to the green little creature. "Ehh? What'd you say?"

Ella raised her voice. "There's a Chikorita, Hilda!"

"I can see it, you cranky hag. Think it's a wild one?

Ella observes it for a second or two. "Nah, nah. It's Elm's."

Lily shook her head, quietly muttering a few words. "Dylan."

They both were elderlies, and they both _already_ knew that some Pokémon could talk. It wasn't a surprise.

"Oh... Rose's daughter? That little Dylan boy?"

She nodded, her leaf flailing around a bit as she does. "Mhm."

"So... Elm gave them away, huh? Think they're gettin' a trainer pad, too?"

Hilda leaned back, yawning. "Knowing Elm, that's for sure."

Ella laughed a little, then turned her old stare back at Lily.

"So, Chikorita, what are you doing here?"

Lily got up, going back on all four. In her head, she was busy analyzing the situation, assimilating words, understanding human customs.

"Lily. I... Lily."

Ella replaced her glasses properly. "Oh, he gave you a name? Lily, right?"

Oh, boy. Hilda's dementia was kicking a little. "Huh? Who's that Lily? You cheating on me?"

"No, you old carpet! The Chikorita!"

"Ohh! Right."

"Its name is Lily. That Dylan boy gave the nickname to it."

Lily observed. She never saw older people, and she was bumbling with questions. Are they the same as all of what she's seen before? Do they act the same way?

She tilted her head slightly. "Dementia?"

Ella smirked. "You're a smart one, aren't ya?"

"Dementia... it's like... forgetting things!"

"Forget..." she repeated.

"Yeah. This old nook here- she forgets so many things."

Hilda looked bored, but played along comically. "Who are you, already?"

Both of them laughed. Ella grabbed Hilda's hand, then looked back at Lily. "My wife's special, huh?"

Lily smiled. Behind her smile, though, was many, many thoughts and analyzing going on.

Wife... wife... lover... female lover. Two female lover.

Deviant behavior? Is that the same as Dylan? Is this normal? Could it be... it's not deviant behavior?

Oh, right! Dylan! Gotta get his watch.

Lily waved at them. "Lily go! Bye! (It was nice meeting you both!)"

Ella waved back, watching Lily scamper toward Dylan's house. "Goodbye, Lily! Come visit us sometimes."

Hilda looked skeptically at Ella. "So... how hot is that Lily?"

* * *

And... there we are.

Dylan backed off, freeing himself from Cedric's grip. He glued himself to the wall, looking at Cedric, his poker face betraying his curiosity. He didn't speak.

Cedric watched him smugly, putting his both hands in his pockets. He raised his chin a little bit.

A few seconds of silence occurred, in which Cedric was bathing his pride in- he knew Dylan would fall for something like this.

"I saw you and your Chikorita talking. I figured you'd be coming, but Chikorita left, and you went down my room. Didn't expect that"

Dylan was sweating profusely. Well, yeah. He kind of got busted, there. He was stiff, and was barely making any movements.

"Soo... I followed you. You left the door open, too. I was just watching you browse through my files n' shit."

"And you tried going in the nudes folder... but that's when I had to step in."

"If you're gonna have to see sexy pictures of me, that's gonna be in real life, not with shitty pics I kept for sexting websites. They're not good."

Dylan's face- oh, yes. It was red, blushing more than he ever had. Embarrassment, shame, arousal- the entire mix would give a vivid red that would _almost_ turn into pink. He was _wrecked_ , to say the least.

Still, he remained unresponsive. To that, Cedric gave a chuckle, then moved toward him.

He slammed both of his hand to the wall, trapping Dylan between them. At last, Dylan reacts- albeit, just a little- by flinching, closing his eyes, and squeezing his teeth.

"Dylan."

He was almost paralyzed, and certainly wasn't ready to tackle on the situation.

But... his mother's words echoed.

Weakly, he opened his mouth, uttering a single trembling word. "What?"

"Should I just go ahead and assume you're agreeing?"

Dylan snapped, shaking his head, and pushing him back. "No!"

"I-I want... I want to know what you did to me... last night... y-you... I-I... I didn't tell you... I..."

"Chill, you dork. After you passed out from nearly popping your cherry, I just kinda went to sleep as well."

"... Really?"

He put a fist to his heart, raising the other. "Promise."

Dylan didn't know if he could fully trust Cedric, but too many parts of his brain urged him to- even if he would, later on, find out that it wasn't the truth- at least, for now, he could worry about it less, and believe nothing happened.

He just... let out a loud sigh, relaxing his body against the wall.

"So... Cedric."

"Yeah?"

"What the hell is going on? Why... are you being like that?"

"What do you mean?"

"The whole... overly sexual shit! You've never been like this, holy fuck, Cedric!"

Finally, Dylan could feel like emptying his burden, and it felt _great_. His mother's words echoed- no more of the dubious consent shit. 

He was _through_ with Cedric's shit, and he was going to be clear about it, from now on. No more staying like Cedric's little bitch, doing nothing about the situation.

Cedric crossed his arms. "Didn't I make a promise, for your 16th birthday?"

"Just... just shut up! That's just some dumb stuff! I don't want you being like this!"

"So... why were you in my room, about to check my nudes folder?"

Dylan backed off a little, blushing. "... I... I don't know, okay? I'm confused!"

Cedric smirked. "Well, then, explore that with me. Maybe you'll figure some things out."

"Cedric, I don't think I'm ready to jump into anything like that, okay?"

"Hmmm... well, Dylan. Here's a deal."

"Huh?"

"Do what you want to me. You're in control. You can stop anytime."

Dylan was a little flushed- but, for once, he wasn't backed into a corner.

"After the manhood taste I gave you, last night, you must be a little interested in adventuring yourself in a guy's body."

Dylan shuffled a little bit around, avoiding eye contact with Cedric. His voice lost in intensity, just like Selene's. "M-Maybe... I.... thought about it... a little."

Cedric approached- just a little. Enough to invite Dylan, but not enough to impose himself on him.

"I'm not stopping or judging you. Go on. It's up to you."

Dylan lifted his hand, contemplating the proposal.

He, delicately, placed it on Cedric's chest.

Cedric didn't react.

Even through the fabric, Dylan could feel his pulse.

The slow, calm heartbeat was almost soothing to hear.

But... no.

He gentle shoved him aside. Cedric was, surprisingly... surprised.

It was as if he was sure that Dylan would go further with him.

"No... Cedric. Not now, not in this setting."

Cedric kept his panic and slight frustration cooped inside; instead, he held a smirk.

"Tonight. In my room, Dylan."

Dylan began walking to the door. "I'm not ready for any of this, Cedric."

Cedric didn't want him to leave.

"Dylan-"

"Cedric, I'm sorry for going through your computer without your authorization. I don't know what got into me."

As he was listening, expecting for way more than 'taking it slow', he noticed Lily coming down, shifting his eyes to her.

Dylan, noticing this, turned himself. "Lily!"

She had the pocket watch, holding it in her leaf. She handed it over to Dylan, who grabbed it.

Cedric quietly watched, as Dylan crouched a little and gave Lily a few pats.

"Thanks a lot, Lily."

Dylan grabbed her, picking her up, carrying her, as he turned back to Dylan.

"I... I'm still confused. You... you make me feel fucking w-weird, really. But... anyway, I've came to try out a battle."

"Can we... just, leave it? For now?"

Cedric watched in silence, looking at Dylan's face- it's way too _visible_. It's written all over his face.

Behind his confident smile was a high amount of shame.

He was more than embarrassed, but was trying too hard not to panic or fall flat in the dubcon bullshit.

He gave out a little chuckle, smirking at him.

Cedric walked past Dylan, taking step by step, going upstairs. "I'm afraid you're too late to fight Cyndaquil. Selene's already worn him out."

Dylan gave a soft smile, as the issue seemed to die down.

* * *

The same battlegrounds that were used for Totody and Cyndaquil's battle now had Totody and Lily, instead.

They were standing face to face, ready to battle.

Both of them had a slight rivalry going on; Totody always hated Lily's condescending "know-it-all" behavior, and Lily hated Totody's immense pride and stubborn behavior. They definitively didn't _hate_ each other, but they were like "friends with issues".

Despite not hating each other, the both of them were eyeing at one another with great passion, as both of them were ready to body one another.

Selene wasn't as nervous as her first battle; this time, she was sitting on the ground, her phone next to her, watching for notifications that her friends could send her. When she wasn't watching her phone, she put all her attention on Dylan, her pale little skin blushing gently.

Dylan decided to battle. He definitively did train, for this, with his mother, and was ready to duke it out- at least, as much as a trainer does. He had a slight competitive pose, and had a determined look in his face.

Cedric was still in his chair. He was sitting like a villain, caressing their cat, gently, observing two challengers about to duke it out. The cat was Cyndaquil, though.

"I'm surprised you came, Dylan! Haha! I-It's super nice to see you!"

Dylan dropped his competitive pose, smiling at Selene. "Ah, yeah, I'm also surprised in myself. Heh."

"Well, uhh... have a good match, Dylan! Haha!"

"You too, Selene."

"You can do it, Dylan!"

"Yeah, we'll have a nice ti-"

Cedric interrupted the mushy wholesome, looking at Selene's, as he may call it, pathetic blush, getting stronger and more visible on her face. "Stop with this dumb lovey friendly crap, and get on with the battle."

Dylan and Selene sighed, looking at Cedric, pompous as ever, even as the loser.

In the meanwhile, Lily and Totody were both still in combat position, glaring at one another.

"(So... you decided to battle, after all, huh?)"

"(I did, Totodile. I'm... ready.)"

"(... It's Totody, now, Chikorita.)"

Chikorita flayed her leaf backwards.

"(Well... it's Lily, here.)"

Totody's expression changed into surprise.

"(... Didn't you tell your trainer that you're not a female? Lily is for female, right?)"

"(None of your business, 'Totody'.)"

Totody chuckled in his throat- didn't take long for it to become a full on laughter.

He pointed at Chikorita, cramping himself.

"(Hahahahha! You really put the chick in Chikorita, Lily!)"

Lily had to silence him, one way or another.

Dylan and Selene turned toward the battlefield, seeing Totody mocking Lily, growing more and more angry and competitive.

They were about to question what happened, but Lily took action, beginning the battle.

Without waiting another second, she shouted "Spore Blade!"- slinging her leaf upwards, creating a leaf, blasting it with spores, and grabbing it before it got too far, using its long vines. Presenting it forward, she was wielding a yellow tinted leaf.

As everyone watched- they were all shocked. Selene and Cedric couldn't believe it; hold on, this Pokémon talked, what?

Her very light voice shrieked in their mind, as visible confused appeared on their faces.

Totody was surprised; still with tears in his eyes from immense laughter, he watched in awe, seeing Lily, all ready for battle.

Selene, completely unprepared, leaned forward, yelling in panic. "T-Totody, do the... uh, thing! Again!"

Surprisingly enough, Totody seemed to have understood what 'the thing' was; he shook his crying eyes, then proceeded to rear his head backward, then shooting a powerful blast of water.

Lily, as the smart and intellectual Pokémon she was, could easily see where the blast was targeted- right at her. She knew how to dodge, but she had no real combat experience.

Her body didn't move fast enough, and with a weak nudge, she still got hit by the water blast, straight in the face.

It didn't hurt her much- well, she was a like a plant, so water wasn't such a bother, but still, it was a shot right on her.

She flinched back, but quickly got her fighting pose again, ready to attack. "(Not even a scratch.)"

Totody wanted to snark back, but Selene didn't give him the opportunity. "T-Totody, do the thing! Yeah, again! You'll win!"

Dylan, not wanting to back down, and with his many years of gaming, took instant command of Lily's mind- immediately, her movement spiked, and everything felt on auto-pilot, listening to Dylan's shouting, his order passing by, one after another, like a robot reading lines of codes.

"Lily- use your leaf to shield the incoming one!"

Holding her spore blade high, she put her leaf in front of her face. It didn't take a few seconds before getting splashed in water.

Even before Totody had stopped gushing out water on her leaf, Dylan shouted his next command- "Lily, absorb the water, and launch a large razor leaf at the lowest point you can! Prepare your spore blade upward!"

Totody was confused. That Dylan kid- he wasn't so useless, after all. He seemed to be able to give better orders than 'do the thing'. Nonetheless, he wasn't about to be defea- not having the time to think that, a large razor leaf was coming straight at him.

It was at a very low angle. With all the water gushed at Lily, she had abused that, enabling the leaf to grow massively in size. It wasn't particularly very fast- in fact, it was predictable. He couldn't dodge it from left or right, but he could definitively jump over it.

Without thinking, he smirked, then jumped right overneath it. Thankfully, Selene wasn't in the way to be hit- she would have been toast, otherwise. Without having the time to land- right when Totody jumped- Dylan shouted. "Now!"

As if she had knew his plan all along, she extended her vine, slicing Totody mid-air, during his confident jump. Right in his stomach, it hit him, with no mercy. Lily and Dylan were perfectly synched for battle.

Totody felt the burn of the slice on him- he fell straight down, knocked back a little. He was staggering on the grass for a few second, face up in the sky.

"(...Wh... what was that power?!)"

"(D-Doesn't matter... I need to continue.)"

"(The pain is nothing.)"

"(... Huh?)"

"(Why can't I...)"

"(Move?)"

Lily walked in front of Totody. He was struck with the stun spore, leaving him limping on the ground, futilely trying to get up.

She held a stoic expression, her spore blade lifted right over Totody, pointing at him.

His face showed a little bit of fear, the blade looking as it could fall straight, split his face apart and leave him dead.

"(You've lost, Totody.)"

Dylan smiled confidently- he had did it. Him and Lily were doing _so_ good, together.

Selene was in awe. She had _no_ clue on how to be a trainer, and didn't have the gaming experience that Dylan had.

Cedric got up, Cyndaquil quivering in his arms, afraid that Lily would hurt Totody further.

He gave out a smirk, as if he had anticipated the outcome of the battle. "Well, Lily wins."

Lily's blade vanished out of the air, and her vines retracted. She ran back to Dylan, looking happy. She wanted praises.

Dylan smiled, looking at her come back. "We did it, Lily! You've done a great job!"

She smiled back at Dylan. "Y... Yeah! (You too!) Dylan!"

Lily couldn't help but think to herself about how talented Dylan was. He blew her expectation, even improving her combat capacity. With a guide, all of her power increased. She was better at being commanded.

Totody was standing upward, still feeling numb, but starting to feel his fingers again.

He was... pissed. Losing to _Lily_ , of all people. How could he lose to him. To _her_? What was his intention, with this feminine name? At the same time, Totody didn't really understand human concept. Maybe it's something different. All he knew is that, if he was with Dylan, he wouldn't take this sort of nickname.

Totody was such a _dumb_ , stupid nickname. Then again, it did make him stand out as a _Totodile,_ but... as _Selene's Totodile_. It was a dumb name, but it worked for him, and he actually liked it a little.

But putting name and Lily's questionable gender aside, he was still fumed. Losing to _goddamn_ Lily. He, who always was sunbasking, unaggressive, unprovocative, never trained for battle. He _knew_ he had more power than him. What he didn't have... was a good trainer. Someone who could guide him strategically.

Lily and Dylan combined were two strategic master. Even if Lily had much less power, they could come up with creative and outsmarting idea to overwhelm any opponent. Totody was pissed. He wanted a better trainer. He wanted someone who was strong. Someone to make him rise to the top. He wan-

Selene picked him up.

She gave him a few pats.

"I'm sorry... I'm not a good trainer."

She had an apologetic smile on her face.

"I hope you'll still want to train with me. I'll get better, and so will you!"

Her smile took more confidence.

"We'll do... _the thing_ more often!"

Totody's heart felt fluttery.

Selene... she was just a beginner.

He shouldn't be thinking that.

Why was he so dramatic over losing against Lily?

In a smirk, Totody squirted a very little amount of water on Selene's face.

She shook her head a little, then started laughing.

"Yeah, we'll practice _that thing_!"

Totody gently smiled.

...

Cedric watched the mushy show go on.

What the fuck is that dramatic, end-of-the-story feeling.

Why did it switch to an epic battle to a shitshow of wholesome feeling.

Cedric sighed.

"Hey, you Luvdisc wannabes. It's almost time we head back to Elm's."

Breaking their wholesome bubble, they both got up.

Selene puts Totody down as she does. "Oh, uh, right!"

Dylan did a sighing laugh. "I almost forgot."

"Stop wasting your time being idiots. It was just one battle. Come on, let's go."

Cedric walked away, his face looking displeased and dumbfounded.

He had morons for friends.

Why was Selene not scolding Totody?

And why was Dylan such an amateur?

And snooping around on his computer.

He wants it, but won't just come straight for it. What's his issue?

Ugh.

So annoying.

* * *

Elm's lab- back again.

He could see how Totody was definitively injured, and, Cyndaquil, too exhausted.

They fought, that's for sure. Lily didn't really look injured, though.

"... You kids fought, huh?"

Elm sighed.

Selene smiled, looking at Totody, who was walking next to her. "Mhm! Was fun! That was SO exciting, for real!"

She turned toward Dylan. "A-And... you're definitively stronger than me, Dylan! I'm just... a total newbie at being a trainer!"

Selene smiled gleefully. Dylan gave a few chuckles back. 

"Well... I'm a gamer, so I know a little bit about combats, I guess!"

Cedric turned his head away, still patting his partner with a hand, holding him up in his arms.

"You've just gotten some beginner's luck... plus, that Lily of yours... she's got talent and strategy."

Dylan gave out a nasty stare at Cedric, annoyed at his answer. Lily did the _exact_ same. "Yeah... thanks for validating my efforts."

Selene pitched in; she wasn't satisfied at what Cedric was saying. She crossed her arms, pouting, looking at Cedric. "You're just jealous, Cedric. Get over yourself."

Elm sighed... again. 

"Okay, kids, let's move on, alright?"

"It's great that you got some experience as trainers..."

Elm paused, eyeing at the three Pokémon he gave out- particularly, the injured Totodile.

"... And that Chikorita, Totodile, and Cyndaquil have duked it out for the first time."

Lily felt proud. She smirked, looking to her left, eyeing slightly at Totody.

He was still pissed about losing to _Lily_ , but he wasn't gonna dwell on it for too long.

"From now on, if you want to do battles..."

Elm turned, shuffling something on his desk.

As he turned, he held three devices in his hand. A little two much for just two hands, but he managed.

"You'll use your trainer pads!"

Selene was curious. It's the first time she saw one.

"What's that, Professor?"

"Well, the trainer pad is a high-tech devi-"

Cedric interrupted him, walking toward Elm slowly. "Let's not start a dumb expositional speech. We're not here to market the trainer pads."

As he arrived, right in front of him, he eyed at the three pads. They each had a name on it- Dylan, Selene... and Cedric.

He swiped the Cedric one, smirking as he shined it against the lamp on the ceiling.

"If you need help knowing what to do with that, just check the last page of the manual."

Cedric put Cyndaquil down. He held his trainer pad like a phone. It clasped open, and a red ray of light shined down on the ground, emitted from another bulb of red light.

The ray of light was just to the left of Cyndaquil, who was taken by surprise, flinching back a little. Cedric nudged his head, indicating for Cyndaquil to let himself be touched by the light beam.

He didn't resist much. He wasn't sure what was that light, but he trusted Cedric, despite how trash he talked of him.

Cyndaquil touched the light beam, which instantly made his entire body glow red.

In a flash, he was condescended in a ball of red light, and the trainer pad recalled him.

Cedric began talking to the trainer pad, walking to the exit, avoiding and ignoring Dylan and Selene's confused looks. "There. I'll make you a nice dome, Cyndaquil. Don't worry."

Dylan blushed a little, watching Cedric leaving. He was kind of cool. But a douche. Still cool, though. He knew everything he was doing.

Elm drooped his hands down, still holding the two other trainer pads. "Cedric is so... predictable, and, yet, unpredictable."

Elm shook his head, as the door of his lab closed. Cedric was gone- no idea where. "Nonetheless, here are your trainer pads."

Dylan and Selene walked toward Elm, who held out the pads, ready to hand them out. Both picked theirs, contemplating their material. It definitively had their names on it, so it probably was theirs.

"So... do you kids want to know how it works?"

Elm took a second- but didn't let them answer.

"But... on second thought, Cedric's right. Look, right here."

He open the trainer pads, showing one specific button on Dylan and Selene's screens.

"That's the manual. It explains everything about trainer pads."

"Cedric knows how they work, because I've had mine, and already showed it to him."

"You'll manage, right?"

Dylan scratched his head. "Uhhh... I guess!"

Selene followed up, enthusiastly nodding. "It's gonna be fine!"

Elm chuckled, putting his hands on his hips. "We'll hope so."

Dylan looked at the trainer pad, then pressed the button for the manual.

There were many instructions; it was packed full of component. It's such a high quality device.

Despite how fully packed it was, everything was clear to comprehend. No double handed bullshit, everything made sense.

Dylan's attention snapped back to Elm, as he continued talking. "Well, you're both officially trainers! You can now start collecting badges."

Selene jumped in happiness, as Totody gleefully watched her. "Awesome! That's gonna be great! A Pokémon adventure..."

She turned to Totody. "You'll join me, won't you?"

Totody smiled. He liked her optimism. Plus, she definitively had potential.

He held out his hand, giving a thumb up to Selene. "(Yeah!)"

After a warm little smile, Selene turned to Dylan. "A-Ah, uhm, Dylan! You'll be around, too, right? Y-You're such a strong trainer, already, you can probably win everything!"

Dylan shook his head. "Doing the battle was fun, but I don't think I want to do any of that special stuff... I don't think Lily wants that either."

He picked her up, gentle caressing her leaf.

She felt good for a second, but spoke up. "Well... Lily... want fight. (I'd like to fight more with you, Dylan.)"

Selene was surprised again. "Wait, Lily spoke? She... wait, she spoke, too, earlier, in the battle! I had forgotten!"

Elm was just as puzzled. "Did... did it learn to talk? Human?"

"Oh, yeah. She showed that to me."

"... She? Uh... more importantly, Chiko... I mean, Lily. You know how to talk?"

Once more, she lowered her leaf. She didn't know if she did anything wrong.

Dylan took instant notice of it; he spoke up for her. "Ah, yeah, it's really cool! I was surprised, too! I thought you'd know, Professor."

"... Well, she's never spoke to me, before."

Selene shook her head. "Okay, okay. Hold on. So Pokémon can speak?"

Elm replaced his glasses, then shifted his hand to his back.

"Ah, well, they can learn. Yeah, every of them can, but they'll need to be very motivated for it."

He scratched his beardless chin. "Now that I think about it... yeah, Lily seems like... yeah, Lily is definitively smart enough and motivated for that."

Selene looked at Lily, then approached her. She let her excited, girly sides come out. "Woah, Lily! Can you say my name?!"

Lily cringed back. Selene was _way_ too excited for her. Nonetheless, she did as complied. With a low, shaky voice, she uttered the name. "... Selene."

Her eyes glittered up. She was _amazed_. "WOAH! She DOES speak! And she understands! Oh, my god! This is SO COOL!"

Already feeling neglected and jealous, Totody did _the thing_ on Selene's foot. Barely did a splash.

She turned back, definitively lecturing the pouting Totody. Yes, he was prideful, and could definitively not _stand_ not being the center of attention.

In the meanwhile, Elm gave a few pats to Lily. Her worries seemed to have dissipated.

She thought she'd be weird for talking human. Rather... Dylan, Elm, and even... Selene... they all looked happy, even proud.

Elm coughed, then backed off. "Well, talking Pokémon are getting a little more... common, nowadays. Let's just say that it's not a shocking new discovery, but quite a happy one!"

Selene had picked up Totody, who was pouting in jealousy. She turned herself to Elm. "So, Professor... another question."

"We're trainers, right? Where should we start?"

Elm hummed, then walked to one of the windows.

He glanced outside, at the exit of New Bark Town.

"Well, you kids could start with Route 29..."

Dylan and Selene approached.

Selene poked the window, pointing at the route. "We always had to avoid those routes! There's tall grass everywhere."

Dylan turned to her, smiling. "Well, you have a Pokémon, so you should be fine."

"A-And... if we travel together... D-Dylan... you can protect me! Y-You're a super strong trainer!"

Dylan chuckled, backing off from the window. "Selene, I swear, you could beat me to a pulp. You're the one who's gonna be protecting me!"

Selene blushed. No, no, Dylan! That's not how you're supposed to see her.

Her voice cracked, as it lowered in volume. Her grip on Totody got stronger as she talked. "W-Well... n-no, I wouldn't... beat... you..."

Dylan was totally used to this. She always seemed to be flustered, for some reason.

It was kinda cute! She really had this lovely personality.

But... about Lily. She definitively wanted to fight more, from what she said.

Would it be okay to go on an adventure? Seemed a little odd, but... maybe?

Elm shook his head. "Anyway... you two, make sure to tell your parents if you're gonna do anything. You can explore a little bit, but don't take a trip to Hoenn without telling anyone."

Selene, still very embarrassed, fled the scene. "W-Well, I'm gonna... talk to dad- I mean, Val! Yeah, since dad's not home! U-Um, see you, Dylan!"

Totody rolled his eyes, carried away by Selene, as the door closed behind them.

Dylan tailed them slowly. "Will do, Professor. Thanks a lot, again, for everything. This... this has been..."

He thought about everything that had happened.

Yeah, that was a fairly great day.

"A really nice day. I'm looking forward for more."

Dylan opened the door, preparing to leave.

"Ah, Dylan. Just..."

He turned his head back, looking at the professor.

"You should give it a chance. Might look scary, or not really your thing, but..."

"Out of you, Selene, and Cedric, you'll probably be the most suited to be a trainer."

Dylan took the compliment with a grain of salt. "Huh. Well... see you, professor."

He closed the door behind himself, leaving.

Where was Selene?

Did she run to her house?

Oh, well. Guess Dylan was just going to go home alone, today.

* * *

Dylan spread his limbs all over his bed.

He was wearing an undershirt and some boxers.

Lily was resting herself, near the window, exposing her leaf to the sun, which was slowly descending.

It was already evening, a few hours after the whole thing with Elm.

It was thinking time, for Dylan.

A bunch of crap happened, today.

Cedric was the main thing on his mind.

Getting Lily was very important, too, but...

Cedric was just everywhere in his mind.

When he was young, Cedric was just a bully. He kept teasing Dylan.

It was... the friendly bully type? Someone that would tease you all the time, but a person you can still call a friend.

And now... he's holding to that dumb promise?

Dylan had already forgot all about it within a day of doing it.

At this time of doing that promise, was Cedric really planning this? Doing sexual advances of him?

Ugh... the sexual advances.

What did Cedric even want?

And _why_ did he look so hot?

Dylan was blushing. He could barely realize it, but he _was_.

He put his hands on his face, rubbing it a little.

Dylan wanted to touch Cedric. More, more, and even more.

He _never_ felt that way, before.

His dick either, to be honest.

Dylan felt it twitching a little. He moved one hand to his boxers, poking his bulge.

It was getting a little bit harder. He eyed down, blushing.

Dylan never had masturbated before, but he knew what it was. He's never had the interest or curiosity to do it.

That is... until _today_.

Within a flash, he remembered that... yeah, he's got Lily.

She was relaxing by the window. The sun was setting. She looked... so peaceful.

She looked like she was taking a nap- or that she was gathering some last piece of sun before going to sleep.

Dylan was horny. He was thinking about any and all situation to touch his dick, one way or another.

Call Lily in the trainer pad? Go to the bathroom? Wait until she's asleep? Be sneaky abou-

Good lord.

He felt so gross, disgusted.

But he felt needy for it.

At the same time, thinking about how Cedric wanted to explore with him and all...

The more he thought about it, the less safe he felt.

Dylan never even touched himself. Going to Cedric for this sort of stuff sounds awfully rushed.

He knew nothing of his body, and he was going to entrust _Cedric_ with it? No way.

He squeezed his bulge, regardless.

Ohh.

The little waves of _pleasure_.

That is _good_.

So... _good_.

He just... needed to do that more.

Before he could do more, Lily got up, shuffling around.

Dylan immediately stopped. It was too late, and he realized that he had a boner.

Oops.

It was just... poking out from his boxers.

Lily hopped off the desk she was sitting on, leaving the falling sun behind.

She turned to Dylan, who was prominently blushing furiously.

Thankfully, Lily had _no_ experience or research done on human sexuality.

She looked in confusion at the poking from Dylan's boxer, completely unphased.

Lily simply assumed that it was a human thing. She didn't look further.

She moved to the bed, Dylan still too embarrassed to do anything other than look at Lily, slowly moving his hand away from his boner.

She took a second of windup, then talked meekly.

"Sleep?"

She turned at the trainer pad. She was visibly indicating for Dylan to return her in so that she could sleep in there.

Dylan thought, in his gross, dirty mind, that it would be ideal for him, as he could then... do his things.

...

No.

He grabbed Lily, putting her up on the bed.

She did not put any resistance against this; she put her four little feet on the bed, looking at Dylan.

He was patting a place, right next to his chest, smiling to her.

"We sleep together, now!"

Dylan's boner was already going down.

Lily was conflicted. This is the first time she didn't sleep in a Poké Ball or a trainer pad.

She took the small step to Dylan, plopping herself down.

She seemed to be uncomfortable, in a way that she wasn't sure of what she was doing.

Dylan took no hesitation, though, grabbing her, placing her properly against his chest, and making her very comfy.

The two of them were close to each other.

It was still early. The sun was practically set.

The sky was almost dark.

Dylan wasn't sleepy, but...

Lily's presence was simply aromatic.

Her leaf emitted a delicious, relaxing scent.

Dylan could feel it coursing through his body.

His boner was gone.

His stress was gone.

All his anxiety shrivelled up and died.

He was relaxed like Nothing.

His eyes were closed, and soon, closed deep enough for him to sleep.


	5. AU Plot Explanation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you'd like more information about the story, make sure to read this!

“A Precious Metal Matter” is a reinvented story of the event that undergoes in HeartGold and SoulSilver. Alternatively, it can be said to be an AU, which contains many different plot element, when compared to the original story. It contains romance, drama, and realistic situations that can, sometimes, stall the story away from the adventure feeling. It has a large focus on the human’s backstories and everything concerning them, but, also, their Pokémon. As written with parenthesis, it is possible to read what the Pokémon’s thoughts are, and, just like with humans, there is an equally large focus on their personalities, struggles and other things concerning them.

There are many metro stations in each town, cities, and villages, connecting the whole Johto and Kanto, together, in a rapid line. The metro fares are not too expensive. Without the metro, an average route, such as route 29, takes about 20 minutes to cross.

Many non-native Pokémon, even coming from Alola, resides wildly in every little various routes and caves. This was part of the Diversification Project, led by Professor Birch, all the way in Hoenn.

As per Professor Oak’s researches, various Pokémon have emerged in a more autonomous state- as such, many little civilisation of Pokémon can be found across the region, with the most notable one being the Grass Shore, living in a forest near Azalea Town. It contains roughly made stone and grass houses, inhabiting a population of near 40 different Pokémon. Pokémon villages have been nationally recognized, since a few years ago. It is forbidden to capture any Pokémon in those, and trained police Pokémon guard each city, carefully. With their advance, multiple Pokémon have been seen to learn the human language, whether from drawing or talking. Those Pokémon are considered as prized, and illegal hunters are after them.

Pokémon battles are treated differently due to the invention of the Trainer Pad. It is a tablet-like device that contains the entire information of a trainer and their Pokémon. Pokémon, from now on, all have Power Level, which improves as the Pokémon trains itself. The Trainer Pad also acts as a capture device, allowing Pokémon to be stored in it. By using the Trainer Pad, it is possible to adjust the Power Level of a Pokémon, up to its maximum, and even temporarily de-evolve it. Due to how the Trainer Pads are programmed, a Pokémon that is not in a battle will always have a cap of 10 Power, which is considered to be very low, as most beginner wild Pokémon have this average. This rule is to avoid for Pokémon to be used for wrongdoings, such as destruction, as the cut in Power severs their battling abilities strongly. The Trainer Pad can send requests to other Trainer Pad for battles or trades. When battling, it will use the sender’s custom made Battle Dome, which opens a rupture in space, giving access to the Battle Dome. Battle Domes can be customized near limitlessly by the trainer. Inside the Battle Dome, there is no limit in Power, as the rupture in space allows for the Pokémon to battle to their fullest without damaging anything surrounding them.

In a battle, rarity of Pokémon is often completely ignored; the way it is handled, comparing it on a gameplay-wise notion, rather than considered Power Level as a level cap, it is more of a _stat_ cap, meaning that even strong, legendary Pokémon will be put on par with a completely fresh Pokémon, as the Power Level will adjust the amount of damage they can inflict on one another. Untamed Pokémon have no limit on their Power Level, and can be a real threat, requiring for trainers to actually train their Pokémon.

Several new types have surfaced: Sound, Beast, Magic, Light, Holy, Sand, Evil, Space, and Acid. Additionally, some Pokémon have taken a liking to having three or more types. Several variants also have appeared- theorized by Professor Elm as the "Cross-Breeding Syndrome", in which species that cross breed tend to give out their typing to their offspring, at very rare opportunities.

The Gym Leaders of Johto and Kanto now impose Battle Dome challenges on contestants, making them do various things, rather than overly simple Pokémon Battles. Everytime a gym leader is defeated, the out-of-battle Power Level limit is increased by 5. Upon obtaining 16 badges, it is possible to challenge the Elite 4, who also have special challenges. 

There exists Club Leaders as well, who are Gym Leaders, but with less challenge and not providing an official badge. Despite this, they are still considered to be a necessary part of one's Pokémon journey. Most people call them _optional Gym leaders_. Clubs are located a little bit everywhere; even in routes.

There are varying types of battles, each having their own rules. At base, it is possible to have any set of rules, for a battle. There are 5 that are universal and most commonly used within trainers.

The Legacy Battle is the most regular of all kinds of battles. Each trainer gets 6 Pokémon, and only one is set at the time, with the exception of multi or double battles.

The Fort Battle sets one Pokémon in front, which will take all the damage, and two behind, that can attack the opponent’s front Pokémon. Trainers are allowed 3 Pokémon each.

The Freestyle Battle sets up to 10 Pokémon in the field, all at the same time, until one of the trainers wins. The Pokémon are free to do whatever the Trainer order them to.

The Turn Battle sets a 3 vs 3 battle stance where Pokémon move by turn. When it is not their turn, they are unable to move. This is set by the Trainer Pad, as the Battle Dome itself will freeze Pokémon whose turn is not present, and is able to estimate which Pokémon are to go first.

The Strategy Battle sends up to 5 Pokémon on the field at the same time, but without them taking any order from their trainer. Each round, a Pokémon is nominated from its group to go up in battle, resulting in a 1 vs 1, with the other Pokémon giving orders (or the Pokémon itself using moves on its own). Once either is defeated, the next round moves on, going until either trainer is out of non-knocked out Pokémon.

Pokémon no longer have universal set moves- instead, trainers and Pokémon make moves on their own, attempting to create original combos and interesting effects to them.


End file.
